Kampen in Kempenland, Flanders, Belgium
Source: redrawn from J Meeus
In all parts of Europe, in addition to the main landscape types, specific regional landscapes have emerged. Examples are the open forest landscapes of the Iberian Peninsula (montado or dehesa), the coltura promiscua in Italy and Portugal, and Poland's strip fields, all of which are described below. The depiction of these regional landscapes on the map is particularly dependent on their size: only those areas greater than 100 by 100 km are included on Map 8.1.
Kampen
Found in Flanders (Belgium), the southern and eastern parts of The Netherlands, in North-Rhine-Westphalia (Germany) and also in Les Landes (France), the 'kampen' landscapes are generally enclosed, with a patchwork layout of woods, heath, swamps, mixed crops, scattered farmsteads and roads (Wijermans and Meeus, 1991). There is a great diversity of trees on plots and the poor sandy soils (generally podzols) are cut by stream valleys. This rich diversity of the kampen landscape makes it highly flexible for growing crops. There are some interesting ecological differences between cultivated land on the one hand and heath and wet pasture land on the other. The poorest soils are covered with woods. Intensification of agriculture, abundant use of fertilisers and manure and fragmentation of wildlife habitats have almost eliminated the contrast between open areas and enclosed farmland in the Dutch kampen. The quality of the kampen in this area is under pressure because of the vulnerability of the ecological system. Landscapes are split up, vegetation is being removed and there is a threat of soils drying out and groundwater becoming polluted. Increasing density of livestock (cows and pigs) results in large quantities of manure for disposal. Use of fertilisers and pesticides is abundant. The carrying capacity of the sandy soils is low and groundwater pollution has become a particular environmental problem of the Dutch kampen landscape. Drainage changes wet grasslands, heath and marshlands, depriving them of their natural character (Atlas van Nederland, 198490).
Coltura promiscua
The coltura promiscua is an enclosed landscape, characterised by intensive traditional mixed farming. The landscape displays a classic 'upright' pattern of trees, bushes and ground cover. Examples can be found in central Italy and in valleys of the Iberian Peninsula. In the foothills of the Apennines, coltura promiscua is combined with terraces (Lebeau, 1969), which both retain the scarce rainwater and keep the thin layer of soil in place. Scattered farmsteads can be found, and the population is concentrated in villages. In the expanse of the Mediterranean open land in Spain, there are several small areas with a mosaic of traditional landuse forms, but these areas are too small to be shown on Map 8.1. The traditional mixed cultivation of the coltura promiscua in central Italy and northern Portugal is strongly affected by the present tendencies in agricultural management. These traditional agricultural landscapes are therefore probably destined to disappear when the choice is made between intensification or marginalisation (Meeus et al, 1990).
Poland's strip fields
In the eastern part of Poland, traditional labour-intensive agriculture outlived the period of collectivisation. Since the 1980s, private agriculture on extremely small plots developed to a modern market-oriented agriculture and part-time farming (Kostrowicki et al, 1984). This landscape has a long historical connotation. The parcels are split up into a pattern of strips, buildings are concentrated in compact villages and there is a small-scale network of rural roads (Verhoeve and Vervloet, 1992). Mixed crops, orchards, horticulture and the presence of many people and horses on the small plots characterise this landscape.
Coltura promiscua, northern Portugal
Source: redrawn from J Meeus
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